NEW YORK, Jan 14, 2026, 06:13 EST — Premarket
Spot silver — cash metal for immediate delivery — broke above $90 an ounce for the first time on Wednesday, putting silver-price-linked stocks on watch ahead of the U.S. open.
It touched a record $91.53 and was last up 4% at $90.46, and has climbed nearly 27% in the first 14 days of 2026 as traders leaned harder into Federal Reserve rate-cut expectations. “Well-known haven characteristics amid heightened geopolitical risks, elevated fiscal uncertainty, and concerns about Fed independence,” are driving prices higher, said Jamie Dutta, chief market analyst at Nemo.money, who flagged $100 as a longer-term round-number target. Reuters
U.S. inflation data helped set the tone. The consumer price index excluding food and energy rose 0.2% in December and increased 2.6% over the 12 months through December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Tuesday. Bullion pays no interest, so it tends to look better when investors think rates will fall; the next CPI report, for January, is due on Feb. 11.
Beyond the Fed, silver’s rally is leaning on tighter inventories — shrinking stockpiles available in warehouses — and a mix of industrial and investment demand, analysts said. Geopolitical strain has added a haven bid at the margin.
In the last U.S. session, silver-linked funds tracked the metal higher. The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) closed at $78.60, up 1.8%, while Sprott Physical Silver Trust (PSLV) rose 2.1% to $28.75 and abrdn Physical Silver Shares (SIVR) gained 1.8% to $82.55; the Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) added 0.5% to $94.43. Among miners, Pan American Silver ended up 0.4%, while First Majestic Silver and Hecla Mining finished lower.
SLV held 16,321.16 metric tonnes of silver as of Jan. 13, with 578.8 million shares outstanding, iShares data show. Daily volume hit 140.7 million shares, versus a 30-day average of 86.7 million.
Silver’s sprint comes after a 147% gain in 2025, which analysts have tied to heavy investment demand, refinery bottlenecks and a structural market deficit after the metal was added to the U.S. critical minerals list. “Real assets come to the fore,” said independent precious metals analyst Ross Norman. HSBC expects silver to trade between $58 and $88 an ounce in 2026 and warned of a correction later in the year as supply constraints ease. Reuters
The surge has spilled across markets. Asian stocks climbed as gold and silver hit records, while a fragile yen kept traders alert for intervention risk, according to Reuters.
But silver has a habit of snapping back as fast as it climbs. A firmer dollar, a rebound in Treasury yields or any pushback on the pace of expected Fed easing could turn momentum into a messy unwind.
What traders are watching next is closer to home: the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book later on Wednesday, then the Jan. 27–28 policy meeting and press conference on Jan. 28.
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